Description
It is our pleasure to offer this AR7030+ to the Ebay community. Because of the variety of high quality shortwave receivers that we offer on Ebay, we have often been asked which is our favorite of all the receivers. Such a question is difficult to answer because there is no perfect receiver, but there are a couple receivers that come close and this 7030+ is one of them. We would rank the 7030+ as one of our all time favorite receivers and own one of these 7030s (non plus version) for our personal use and enjoyment. Cosmetically, the receiver has some minor marks from previous ownership. There are no serious or eye catching marks, but this is not a perfect unit. Operationally, the receiver was tested the receiver and ran it through a variety of operations. This included the primary functions, but also the recalibrating the IF filter bank, verifying that the Sync auto-locked on the signal, that the RF gain would automatically attenuate if the signal was too strong, and that the auto notch filter could remove the heterodyne whistles. We found no issues or shortcomings and the receiver was a joy to use. The remote control worked nicely and the sensitivity was AOR wonderful. This AR7030+ is mid production with serial number of 101859 with firmware 16B. This 7030+ comes with 4 stock filters plus the optional NB7030 board installed (see pictures at top of listing). Thus, this receiver contains the highly desired and requested notch and noise blanker board. We include information in the text below with regards to the plus upgrades and the NB7030 option features. At the time of sale into the hobby market, the 7030+ carried a suggested retail of $1799 without the NB7030 option. The NB7030 board added another $350 to the purchase cost. Thus, the cost of this 7030+ would have been about $2,150 back in 2008. If we take the $2150 and use the inflation calculator, this same receiver would sell for over $3200 today. You can see all of the NB7030 installed with the picture showing the top cover of the receiver removed. Filter bandwidths as read on the display show as 2.1 / 3.8 / 6.6 / 9.5 KHz, but these readouts can change very slightly if you calibrate the filters. We want to remind users that the narrower filters typically utilized for sideband can be used to tune AM signals. If tuning AM signals using SSB and utilizing ECSS (called exalted carrier single sideband) on these signals, the fidelity would resemble an AM filter at twice the bandwidth. Thus, for example, if you tuned Radio Romania in ECSS using either upper or lower sideband and utilized the 3.8 KHz filter, the fidelity would resemble a similar filter bandwidth of about 7.6 KHz using the AM mode. Years ago, we met a gentleman who tuned over 100 countries and he informed us that he always tuned his AM shortwave signals in sideband. He could hear the weak signals and could copy them better than if using the AM mode. He would carefully tune the receiver using sideband to remove the audio distortion and thus could clearly hear the AM signals. This was his secret and he told us that he would regularly tune the tropical bands early in the morning very carefully to hear Papua New Guinea. Such tuning requires that the receiver have the ability to very fine tune.... typically in Hz.... and then the signal can be very clear. Sadly, unlike the AR7030+, many receivers lack this capability as they cant tune fine enough to remove the sideband distortion. Selling price on this receiver has been set in accordance with condition, installed NB7030 board, and desirability. Also included in this sale and provided for free are an array of other items as reviews and promotional materials for both the AR7030 and the AR7030+ that is the most comprehensive collection of documents you will find for this receiver as they were accumulated by us over a period of 20 years: original box original user manual supplementary NB7030 manual remote control low noise (non AOR) 15 VDC power supply AR7030 PLUS receiver sheet detailing upgrades over standard AR7030 receiver Passport review - 1997 (Passport to World Band Radio) Passport review - 1998 Passport review - 1999 Passport review - 2000 (retested) Passport review - 2006 (retested) Radcom review - July 1996 DXing.info Review - Guy Atkins WRTH test bench review AR-7030 - 1997 WRTH (World Radio & Television Handbook) review - 1999 NASWA AR7030 review (North American Shortwave Association) - Feb. 1997 (Alan Johnson) NASWA AR7030+ review - Oct. 1998 (Alan Johnson) Radio and Communications review (Australian publication) - July 1997 Radio Netherlands receiver review Medium Wave Circle review QST (amateur radio magazine) review - June 1997 Monitoring Times review (Larry Magne) - April 1996 RadioIntel 7030+ review - David Ross AOR AR7030 sale flyer 7030+ Universal Radio catalog page copy AOR AR7030 preliminary brochure (4 pages) WRTH ad (color) - 1997 (with another receiver) WRTH ad (color) - 1998 Finally, included is a DVD that contains a wealth of information about this receiver...manuals, notes, updates, control software, antenna handbook, service info, mods, installation info, reviews, etc, etc. This CVD contains over 700 MB of files and is not for sale and only supplied to the new owner of this receiver. We had to burn these files on a DVD since an audio CD could not hold all the files and so you will need to have a computer that can play a DVD to be able to read and download all of these files. You will not find more information about this receiver anywhere as we have gleaned from a variety of web sites, including the manufacturers site, and much of this information has been removed from the internet and cannot be found elsewhere. The NB7030 is a highly desirable option that gives the user the ability to use a notch filter to attenuate annoying side channel signals. If you listen to a lot of shortwave, you will sometimes find that you will experience side channel interference during listening. And if the stations are both relatively strong, you may find an annoying heterodyne as a result. Well, you can often get rid of the interference by selecting a narrower IF filter, but then suffer the effects of lower fidelity. Sometimes the side channel signal is so strong that the encroachment interference is still noticeable even when using a narrow filter. With the notch filter, you can literally weaken the side channel station for clear listening. We especially appreciate the auto search function with the notch. You push the search button and the notch will literally locate an offensive heterodyne, tune to it, and remove it from the signal....completely automatically. It is uncommon for a receiver offer this notch search feature on its own and with such efficiency. The other feature of the NB7030 is a noise blanker that works reasonably well. Most noise blankers are limited in their ability to lessen atmospheric noise and work best with man-made noise. In this case, it seems to work for things such as fluorescent, LED, or halogen lights, dimmer controls, or motors that create a steady pulse noise that the blanker can recognize and minimize. You can see a picture of the NB7030 installed in this receiver by looking at the picture at the top of this listing. Here is a list of differences with the upgrade from the basic 7030 and the plus version: increased balance of the mixer for greatest IP2 & IP3 high tolerance 0.1% components in DDS ladder for low noise enhanced RF attenuator operation for minimal intermod higher spec wire aerial input transformer for minimal mixing intermod ceramic metal cased 4 Khz AM filter fitted as standard Bourns optical encoder for the smoothest DX tuning CPU upgrade for 400 memories and offering multi-timer and alpha tag In our listening shack, we have a variety of radios and that includes our personal AOR 7030. And like a fisherman who uses a variety of rods, reels and baits to catch that fish, we use a variety of receivers, antennas, preamps, & DSP devices to help us catch that elusive signal across the spectrum of broadcast transmissions. The AOR 7030 is one of our favorite receivers among the dozens of receiver we have used and enjoyed. We are not the only user that loves this receiver and there are pages and pages of praises for it across the internet and we have posted some of the reviews, comments, and sales specs at these links below. Eham site of consumer reviews and overall rating of 4.7 out of 5.0 from 22 different reviewers: http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/475 (please copy and paste this link into your internet browser) And here are some other detailed reviews of this receiver: https://web.archive.org/web/20200126225634/http://www.mwcircle.org/mw_rec_aor7030.htm (please copy and paste this link into your internet browser) https://web.archive.org/web/20180425093811/http://www.radiointel.com/review-aor7030.htm (please copy and paste this link into your internet browser) Often we will introduce the people looking at our listings to the joys of shortwave listening and give some background on the hobby. We assume that everyone looking at this receiver does not need that introduction and you are most likely a more experienced shortwave listener. However, let us list some of the features of this receiver. You may click on the links above for specifications and other technical data, but here are some user points of interest. Do not assume that this receiver, while simple in appearance, is spartan in its features...it is not: · Modes of AM / USB / LSB / CW / NFM / DAT · Tuning range of 0 thru 32000 KHz · Four stock bandwidths with the ability to add 2 more filters · Passband tuning · Notch filter (option is installed) · Noise blanker (option is installed) · Bass / Treble tone controls · Dual VFOs · 400 Scannable memories (can be alpha tagged) · Synchronous Detector (manual or automatic) · AGC of fast / med / slow / off · Preamp · RF gain (manual or automatic) · Attenuator (four levels) · BFO · Squelch · 24 hour clock / timer · Headphone jack · RS-232 port for remote computer control · Dual speed tuning · Rock solid stability of + or - 2.5 ppm The 7030+ also has some unique features not often seen, if seen at all, in other receivers. For instance, there is automatic filter alignment. Thus, you can install the filters, get into the configuration menu, and watch as the 7030+ aligns the filters without you needing to do anything special. The process takes about a minute and automatically cascades the filters and sets them in the receiver according to bandwidth. On this unit, the sync detector can be manually or automatically tuned. Thus, if you are off frequency and the receiver tunes automatically, you will see the receiver literally search and then center itself on the signal until the sync is fully engaged and locked. Many receivers do not have a sync detector, and for those that do, we have never seen this automatic search feature. Another feature is memory sequencing. How many times do you store frequencies in memory and then find that the memories make no sense with regards to memory number and frequency location. Thus, with the 7030+, you can place a large variety of memories in the bank and then hit a button for it to sequence the memories from lowest to highest frequencies in perfect order....a wonderful convenience. Some people complain about the ergonomics of this unit and the lack of buttons on the front. The 7030+ operates by using the same buttons to access menus and submenus. We would say that it took us about a day or two to catch on to the operation, and after that, we never had a problem accessing or using any of the features. Doing so becomes second nature and we only had to refer to the manual a couple of times when the 7030 was new to us. For those people who may prefer, there is a remote control with keypad that allows easy and direct access of the commonly used features. While we have personally never felt the need to use this remote with our 7030 receiver for operation, we are familiar with others who have informed us of the advantage of placing the remote control in front of the receiver and using it instead of the front panel controls. One of the things that we love about this receiver is its compactness. When we go to our camp in the mountains, it is very easy to pack due to its size. We use solar panels to power the receiver, but the user could also use a car battery or battery pack for the same result. We also use an EF-SWL antenna and use one both at camp and at home. At night, we receive such good reception (our camp is in the mountains and about 7 miles off the power grid) that we can log stations that are difficult to hear with other receivers using the same parameters here at our home. Here is a video that we made of a trip a while back ago using our personal AR7030 (non-plus version) where we could hear Radio North Korea at early evening on 13.760 KHz ....a difficult catch on the East Coast of North America (please note that the audio was better when hearing the signal in person than what our video seemed to capture): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3m6H9ieDqs (please copy and paste this link into your internet browser) This receiver is not only excellent on shortwave, but on mediumwave as well and to the delight of many of its owners. The circuitry is so quiet that we have sometimes wondered if the receiver was powered on while operating at normal room volume and when tuning between stations as you do not get the same degree of hiss and white noise common with many other receivers. This receiver is built like a tank and is bound to give many years of enjoyment. Passport to World Band Radio gives this receiver a 5 star Passports Choice rating and describes the unit as: a smashing performer, with audio quality that can be a pleasure hour after hour. Personal note - this is one of the better sounding receivers we have ever used and it has separate bass / treble controls which are not common on serious receivers and certainly not typically heard on units of this size. Radio Database Internationals White Paper describes the 7030 as: one of the best performing receivers available, with a degree of professional-grade performance and a number of touches rarely found elsewhere. Almost every performance variable that should be right has been executed properly and often exceptionally. We are happy to answer any questions you may have regarding this receiver. If you live here in the USA, you may use the shipping calculator. The cost of shipping insurance accounts for a good portion of the shipping cost in the calculator (about $20). Please use the Ebay shipping calculator to determine your shipping cost. This cost includes proper packing materials for safe delivery and insurance cost against damage or loss. Those buyers living outside the USA are also welcome to purchase from us. We have shipped to 111 countries during the past 24 years on Ebay and we are happy to ship virtually anywhere in the world. You may use the shipping calculator to determine your shipping cost. Please keep in mind that this cost may not include any import, customs, or VAT fees. If you are uncertain of these costs, we ask you to check with your local post office prior to making a purchase from us. Thank you! Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to look at our Ebay items!
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